Composite membranes of polyacrylonitrile cross-linked with cellulose nanocrystals for emulsion separation and regeneration

• DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2022.107300
• Publication Date: 2022-11-05T16:21:52Z
• Authors: Dong Wang; Haiying Yang; Qingxiang Wang; Yi Lu; Jie Yan; Wanli Cheng; Orlando J. Rojas; Guangping Han
• Keywords: A. Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs); A. Nanocomposites; ta221; ta216; E. Electrospinning; A. Cellulose; 01 natural sciences; 0104 chemical sciences

Peer reviewed<br/>As a result of fatigue and damage, the durability of separation membranes remains a major challenge for long-term use in the separation of multiphase systems, such as oily water and emulsions. Here, we synthesize electrospun membranes based on hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). The nanofibers form highly porous systems that are held together by crosslinking, allowing fast mass transport while achieving high tensile strength and elongation at break. The membranes exhibit shape retention upon immersion in complex fluids. An underwater oil contact angle of 141° enables efficient emulsion separation (98.2 % separation at a flux as high as 1293 L·m−2·h−1 for hexane-in-water emulsions) and reliable operation for at least 20 filtration cycles. A similar performance is achieved in the separation of emulsions based on toluene, petroleum ether, diesel, and vegetable oils. Overall, the designed composite membranes endow stable three-dimensional structures, excellent durability, and separation performance.<br/>| openaire: EC/H2020/788489/EU//BioELCell Funding Information: This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (Grant No. LH2020C039 ), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2572019AB02 ), H2020-ERC-2017-Advanced Grant ‘BioELCell’ ( 788489 ), the Canada Excellence Research Chair Program (CERC-2018-00006) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (Project number 38623). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors<br/>